This IEEE Spectrum report introduces a haptic prosthetic hand that can help a patient sense touch thanks to implanted
electrodes.

This IEEE Spectrum report introduces a haptic prosthetic hand that can help a patient sense touch thanks to implanted
electrodes.

As Specrtum's Celia Gorman and Jean Kumagai report, Igor Spetic lost his right hand in an industrial accident.
Then he started working with Dustin J. Tyler, a researcher inhuman-machine interaction, to help develop an experimental
haptic prosthetic that lets Spetic feel sensations in his missing hand.

To make the prosthetic work, Tyler tapped into Spetic’s nervous system. Implanted
electrodes in the right forearm make contact with three nerves at 20 locations. Stimulating different nerve fibers produces
realistic sensations: When one spot is stimulated, he feels a touch on his right palm; another spot produces sensation in
his thumb. Thin-film force sensors in the device’s index and middle fingers and it’s thumb can trigger the
corresponding nerve stimulation.

Right now, the haptic system is rudimentary and can be used only in the lab, but the researchers hope that,
eventually, they’ll be able to engineer a prosthesis that is just as capable as the hand that was
lost.